[News]

AMAMX – Dungey makes it two-in-a-row at High Point

3 years ago

One week after claiming his first win of the season, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey grabbed his second straight 450 Class victory with a 1-1 moto sweep at High Point – the fourth round of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac became the first repeat winner in the division (2-1), emerging victorious after a captivating battle.

In the opening 450 Class moto, MotoConcepts Suzuki’s Mike Alessi grabbed the early lead and opened a significant advantage over the field. However, following a third-place start, Dungey began to make his charge forward. At the halfway point, he made the pass on Alessi to win by nearly 20 seconds.

In Moto 2, Dungey put himself out front at the start, only to have Alessi respond before the conclusion of the opening lap and take the lead. Dungey paced his rival for half of the moto before again making his move and pulling away for the win.

“Mike (Alessi) put up a fight in both motos,” said Dungey. “It was a crazy one (today). These were the toughest conditions I’ve experienced here, (but) the bike worked really well throughout the day. Every race (and) every championship series goes differently, so I’ll keep my head down and go one race at a time. To celebrate the win is awesome; you’ve got to enjoy it, but its time to go to work again. You’re only as good as your last race and you’ve got to be there every single weekend.”

Alessi’s pair of runner-up efforts gave him a season-best finish of second overall, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer rounded out the podium in third (3-3) for the second consecutive round.

Winner of the first two rounds this season, James Stewart finished fifth in the first moto aboard his Team Yoshimura Suzuki, but did not return to compete in Moto 2, still feeling the effects of a crash at the previous stop.

“Halfway through the first moto I could barely hold on,” said Stewart, whose right throttle hand has been of concern. “I was struggling a bit (because) I got a bad start, but I was working my way up. I was trying to do my best to hold on and I almost fell over a few times. At this point, I came out here (and) I tried. I knew I wasn’t 100 percent and I felt like I at least needed to try and do that, but I couldn’t. I was still going to try and give it another shot for the second moto, but (the team) knew about my riding. We’ll see what we can do maybe next weekend or in a few weeks.”

Dungey extended his lead in the 450 Class standings to 42 points over Alessi, who moved into second.

In the 250 Class, GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia kicked off the day with a dominant effort in the first moto, grabbing the holeshot and leading all 16 laps to put himself in position for a second straight overall win.

In Moto 2, Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen took his turn out front, grabbing the lead early and pulling away from the field. Behind him, the battle ensued for the overall win between Barcia and points leader Blake Baggett aboard his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki.

The two riders went bar-to-bar for most of the moto, before Baggett asserted himself into second. However, in the following laps Baggett suffered misfortune and fell out of contention. In his absence, Tomac joined the fight, eventually working his way past Barcia in the closing moments and taking the lead from Roczen, who fell and lost his lead over field, on the final lap to steal the overall from Barcia by a mere two points.

Barcia finished second (1-3), while Roczen brought home his fourth straight finish of third overall (5-2).

“That second moto was a lot of work,” said Tomac. “I never really gave in and kept fighting. Kenny (Roczen) had that mistake, so I ended up getting a chance for the win and I capitalized on it. I really think it was one of the best rides I’ve ever had because I had to come from so far behind. I think I was about sixth or seventh out of the gate.”

In the Women’s Motocross Championship, Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Jessica Patterson emerged victorious following a tough battle with Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda’s Tarah Gieger. After finishing second in the opening moto, Patterson overcame contact and a fall with Gieger while battling for the lead in Moto 2 to reclaim the top spot and secure the overall victory (2-1). Gieger overcame the incident to finish second (1-5), while Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Sayaka Kaneshiro posted a career best third-place finish (5-2).